Implementation of prep resources ongoing

by Kristina Livingston - Executive Editor

Wed, Mar 21st 2018 02:00 pm

The College at Brockport is continuing to collaborate with several nationally recognized law enforcement and security agencies in order to relay tools for emergency preparedness in the college setting and beyond.

The latest effort to do so came in the form of a session of Citizen Preparedness Training, taking place on Monday, March 5, according to the Daily Eagle. This session was organized by Emergency Manager Frederick Rion, who ensured that representatives from the New York State National Guard would be present for discussion and lecture surrounding concepts which aid in the event of natural and man-made emergencies.

This was the second such session, the first of which occurred in September 2017.

According to Rion, county governments, municipal governments, school districts, civic groups and higher institutions can all put requests in to the state to have these types of programs deployed by the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, pending state availability of the needed resources in the desired time frame.

“I think it’s helpful information to have just in terms of being personally prepared,” Rion said. “These are good pieces of information to have so that you’re ready in case a storm pops up or there’s some kind of incident at a mall that you’re at or a movie theater or wherever there’s large gatherings of people. I think it can be applicable here at Brockport or at your home or wherever else you might be.”

The next related session will occur Monday, May 7, and will feature representatives from the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the NYS Police and University Police, and will be aimed to instruct faculty and staff in active shooter situations. It will act as a tabletop exercise in which participants learn about their potential specific roles during an emergency scenario, as well as any resources they would be able to provide pending their involvement in one of the aforementioned agencies.

Following this, a full-scale exercise is being planned to take place sometime in July, for which Rion has requested DHS to supply the college with an exercise trailer, which will provide participants with tools such as signs and vests indicating the nature of the situation, and that an active threat of violence is not present.

This exercise will put into practice what will be discussed on May 7, and involves a simulated act of violence situation in which a “bad guy” must be neutralized. Rion stated that although planning is not far along, observers will be invited, and Monroe Ambulance and Residential Life may play unidentified roles in the simulation. Associate Director of Communications John Follaco is among the committee planning the exercise.

“As we plan, we’ll be mindful about communicating with the campus community so that those who will be on campus that day will be aware of what is taking place,” Follaco wrote in an email.

Rion states the importance of campus involvement with these departments comes with the unique resources they are able to provide.

“The state has a lot of different things – resources, some personnel. They’re the connection from local government up to the federal government when you have a disaster in terms of requesting things from the feds, whether it’s money, or a presidential declaration of disaster.”

In utilizing such resources, the college plays an important role in creating a global culture of preparedness.